Love at First Sight, a OneShot
by Carpetbakr
Summary: After his mother's death, when Tony was seven years old, he and his father decided to take a walk down the street. Along the way, young Tony spies a certain redhead. This is just my remake of the first time Tony saw Pepper. Verry sweet!


**Hey everyone! I came up with this One-Shot idea at like 1:30 in the morning and just had to type it, so I did. If my grammar or spelling's wrong, blame my tiredness. Hope you enjoy!**

**NOTE: I know that the implant Tony described isn't the one he uses, it's my own creation, and will be used in a late FanFic of mine, "Hunted Hero". (Thanks to Cindylou30 for the title!)**

Love at First Sight

A young boy of about 7 years walked down the street, left hand firmly clamped onto his father's. His bright blue eyes showed excitement and intelligence, as well as humor and happiness. His father's shone with pride as Tony, his one and only treasured son, spoke.

"…Daddy, when mommy was in the hospital, I saw a bunch of people waiting for something. A lot of them had an artificial pacemaker or were hooked up to coronary bypass machines. They all had some kind of problem with their hearts." His voice, childishly high and slightly sweet, was tinged with sadness, for it had been in that hospital where his mother was pronounced dead, killed by a drive-by shooting.

Tony had seen it, seen his mother fall to the ground and gasp in pain, then cry out as she lay there, twitching, dying while the car-the black car-drove off in a cloud of exhaust. Tony had run to her, plucked the cell phone out of her pocket, and dialed his father. The ambulance arrived in a few minutes, where they found young Tony cradling his mother's beautiful head in his arms, begging her not to leave. They pried him off her, and loaded them both into the truck and, siren wailing, sped off to the hospital.

But it was too late.

Maria Stark was dead.

However, the Starks were not a family that gave up. They were strong, willful, spirited. They always pulled through and got back up when they fell, and although Tony and Howard's hearts would forever tear when they thought of Maria, they would never fail nor falter.

Howard knew it was what Maria would want.

So he turned his head towards his son, eagerly listening to him.

"Yes, Tony, I remember." He replied proudly. Tony had always had a wondrous memory and was keen to observe things, taking in the slightest detail that nobody else could. Tony went on thoughtfully.

"Well, I was thinking of an invention that could help them-sort of an implant kind of thing. It would be a circular-shaped device," –He punctuated this point by cupping his little hands together, forming an O- "with a clamp in the center, and the back end of the clamp would go through the bottom of the device, forming a plug of some sort, that would connect the power source to the person's heart itself. The clamp would hold a piece of special metal, which would be the power source. The metal itself." He repeated excitedly. Howard stopped and knelt down in front of his son, gazing into Tony's electric-blue eyes. he was quiet for a moment before he spoke again, and his tone was delighted.

"Tony, that's a brilliant idea! You mean the metal itself would store the power needed to keep the heart beating?" Tony nodded excitedly, eyes shining.

"Yeah, and although the metal would have to be recharged, that wouldn't be a problem, the sides of the implant would be wired so that the amount of electricity necessary could easily enter the device and charge up the metal." He finished triumphantly. Howard's eyes gleamed with such pride and love that Tony hugged his father tightly.

"You really think it'll work?" He asked, voice muffled slightly from his father's arms. Howard pulled away for a moment and held his son at arm's length, smiling.

"I know it'll work. Tony, inside of you is a spark. A spark of untamed intelligence, and determination. When you set your mind to something, that spark grows into a raging fire; you would do whatever it takes to accomplish the goal you set, the goal that started your fiery determination. That's why it'll work, because you would never give up on it until it does." Tony's eyes widened, two blue crystals filled with excitement.

"Really?"

Howard stood up and hauled Tony up onto his shoulders, laughing as his son squealed with glee and held on tight to his father's neck. "Really."

They walked on, sharing a silence that held only happiness.

Eventually, Tony looked over and spotted a tough-looking man with a redheaded young girl, across the street. His eyes fixed on the girl, and he felt something deep inside his chest flutter as he gazed into her large brown eyes. He tugged his dad's shirt, getting Howard's attention.

"Daddy, who is that?" He asked, pointing to the girl across the street. Howard glanced over and grinned.

"Why, that's Virgil Potts, and old friend of mine! Looks like he has his lovely daughter Patricia with him." He winked at Tony as he waved them over. Virgil grinned and clapped Howard on the back after he had set Tony safely down on the pavement.

"Howard, great to see you again!" He grinned. Howard returned his smile.

"I agree. I think the last time I saw you was-what, college?"

While the two grown-ups were talking, Tony stole a glance at the redhead. Her fiery hair was short and spiky, but flipped up at the ends, looking very much like an upside-down flame. Her eyes, compared to her heir, were soft and gentle, but full of enthusiasm and excitement. A small spray of freckles dotted her nose, but that only made her even cuter in his mind.

He walked nervously up to her, trying hard not to let his knees shake or his palms sweat. (which they were.)

"Um…hi…my name is Tony." He said softly, trying to be friendly. She looked at him and grinned.

"I'm Patricia, but everyone calls me Pepper." Her voice was high and cheerful.

That only made his heart beat faster.

(_Gosh, she's…cute…_)

"Come on, Tony, we have to go now." Howard's voice interrupted their thoughts and Tony reluctantly said good-bye, and the two were off.

As they walked along, Howard noticed his son's strange quiet. Normally, Tony was bursting with new ideas and formulas that Howard forgot half of them.

"Tony, what's wrong? You're so quiet now!" He asked, genuinely concerned. Tony looked up at his father.

"It's nothing, dad." But Howard knew his son well, and suddenly it dawned on him. He grinned down at Tony and jokingly poked his ribs.

"Is it Pepper?" Tony looked away, which only convinced him more.

"She's pretty cute, alright." He commented.  
>"Da-aad!" Tony complained. Howard laughed.<p>

"Alright, I'll stop." He conceded. But secretly he kept that bit of information in his mind. Tony looked back and saw that Pepper was staring at him as he walked away. He smiled at her and she blushed a little, then turned back and hurried to catch up to her father.

(_Pepper…_) he thought dreamily.

**Well, that's it! Hope you guys liked it, and just so you know, I made up the part about Maria's death. It just fit in with the story. So, anyway, thanks for reading! Let me know if I can improve on anything!**


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